Hugh and Paul's Guide to (Accidentally) Acquiring a Baby
by OliviaR5Warbler
Summary: It was the perfect hit. A car left alone by it's owner who had been in a bar for almost 2 hours. Perfect. It should have gone off without a hit. Should have. It's only after stealing their target that Hugh and Paul uncover it's concealed cargo. Mentions of bruises and implied child abuse


It was a hit like any other. Hugh played the lost student, new to the area, trying to find his way to the university to distract the traffic warden around the corner, while Paul let himself into the car and hotwired it. Simple. They met up a few blocks away for Paul to pick him up and take the car back to the shop where it would be painted, cleaned, have the plates changed and be sold onto the next buyer. Simple.

Or at least it was supposed to be.

They'd been watching the car for a while. The driver, an older woman Hugh had tailed, had gone into a bar well over an hour ago. Through the window they'd watched her drink excessively, showing no signs of stopping. There was no way she'd be driving home and when she was hung over, she was likely to forget where she had parked. Perfect target. Simple.

They were home free. It had gone off without a hitch. They drove through the backstreets mainly, places where there was less CCTV. Hugh text ahead, telling the people at base to open the door to the shop for them. Hugh and Paul were one of the best teams in their crew thanks to their advantage of not being afraid to make out in public. They had found early on, that kissing helped them go unnoticed. Kissing in public made them invisible because the intimate act made people look away, PDA embarrassed strangers. So, if they were about to be caught, one would grab the other and press them against the closest solid object.

The door closed smoothly behind them and they climbed out of the car. Paul leaned against the Hood, spreading his feet apart, pulling Hugh into the space created to kiss him. "Alright, alright, break it up you two," Jett called coming into the shop. They parted and Hugh leaned beside Paul as Jett stood back and admired their latest find. She let out a whistle, "what a beauty. Lorca's gonna be pleased with you," she told them, tossing a screwdriver at Paul which he caught with one hand. "Toss the plates for me while I take a closer look at what needs doing."

"Get one of your grease monkeys to do it," Paul retorted, tossing it back to her. Taking Hugh's hand they headed towards the lounge in back when Jett stopped them.

"Um, hey morons, what the fuck is wrong with you?" They stopped, confused and shared a look before turning back to her.

"What? It's not chipped, we checked."

"Come take a look dummies," she waved them over.

"Shit." "Fuck." They groaned.

In the trunk of the car was a sleeping baby, probably not even a year old. "We swear we did not know that was in there," Hugh told her.

"Yeah, we saw a woman get out of the car and go into a bar, she was gone well over an hour before we stole it."

"Shit," Hugh ripped the restraints open and stuck his hand under the kids nose and mouth, putting his other on his forehead. "He's really hot, help me get him out of the seat and his coat," he said beginning to unfasten the coat. When Paul and Hugh met, Paul was already working for Lorca's gang, while Hugh was in his second year of basic med-training hoping to get into Med-School. A plan that never came through, but he still had a good amount of medical knowledge, which came in handy when people in their group were injured. Hugh held him while Paul and Jett got his coat off, he was damp with sweat and his little face was red. "Check the car for a baby bag, there's gotta be a drink in there for him, it'll help cool him down." Paul dug around in the back seat while Jett searched the trunk, finding a bag with a bottle of what appeared to be water, but Hugh still checked it first. The child drank greedily when the teat was put to its mouth, "atta boy."

"Hey guys- what the fuck is that?" Tilly, one of the younger members of the group entered the shop from the back, eager to see the new steal, froze at the sight before her.

"He was in the back when they jacked the car," Jett told her.

"Come on, let's get him in the back and we'll figure out what to do." Hugh said, standing with the baby in his arms, his eyes hadn't opened. They laid him on the couch and Hugh began ordering them to bring him things to help cool him, including the med-bag he's stolen with a few basics in. He listened to his heart, it sounded alright, his main concern was the temperature.

Soon its eyes opened, they looked up at the strange faces over it, opened its mouth and began screaming, little arms reaching out to Tilly. "What's it doing?"

"I think he wants Tilly."

"Why me?"

"The woman who got out of the car, she had similar hair to you, similar face shape and stuff. Probably thinks you're his mom."

"Uh, fine, come here," Tilly lifted the crying infant, stroked its back and soothed its crying. "That's a good boy, I mean I think you're a boy."

"Diaper bag says Wesley," Paul confirmed, "but that doesn't guarantee it's not a hand-me-down."

"Well for now it's good enough," Tilly said, "hey Wesley," the baby perked up hearing the name, "is that your name? Are you Wesley?" She asked in a funny voice. She cuddled him as he stopped crying, "hmm, I think he needs changing," she told them. Everyone averted their eyes. "You guys are the worst," she moaned, snatching the bag from Paul to look for supplies. "You should watch, I'm not looking after him forever," she warned them. They watched as she undressed him, changed and re-clothed him, finding out that yes, he was a boy. "OK, I'm gonna show you all this other stuff once or I'll be late for my date with Michael." She gave them firm instructions on how to look after Wesley while warming and feeding him a bottle as it was getting late and probably nearing his bedtime.

"Tilly, how do you know how to do any of this stuff?"

"One of my old foster homes ran a less than legal day-care during the summers. You keep 'em quiet or ya get shut down." She shrugged, winding him over her shoulder. "Alright, here you go," she held him out to Paul, who took him but didn't look happy about it. "Hold him properly," she said firmly, "or he'll cry again."

"Remind me again why we're the ones looking after him?" Paul grumbled.

"You acquired it, you keep it alive until we figure out what to do with it," Jett told him.

That was how Paul and Hugh ended up in the flat above the shop with a screaming baby at three in the morning. Hugh was cuddling him and trying a little bounce technique he'd seen nurses doing in the new born wing when he'd been in to observe, but it was doing no good. "Please, please," Hugh pleaded with him. Paul was heating a bottle the way Tilly had shown them, hoping it would keep him quiet.

They turned when the door opened, and Michael and Tilly spilled inside from their date, holding each other up. "Hey guys," Tilly said, a slight slur to her words. "Hey little Wesley, are you a hungry boy?" She cooed, making the baby slow his cried and begin to reach at her. "Sorry baby, Tilly has had a lots of drinks," she told him, as though he could understand her. "You're so cute though, Michael isn't he so cutes!" She slurred.

"He is, he's so sweet," Michael joined in, "look at his little fingers, and his little noses."

"I think you two should head to bed, aren't you on an 'errand' for Lorca in the morning?" Paul said, testing the milk, hoping it was about right.

"Lorca can wait," Tilly dismissed him, "I'm dating his Golden Girl."

"Tilly," Michael warned, she didn't know why Lorca had been so adamant she be in his gang, but he did offer her a level of security minimum wage or a zero-hour contract could not. "Come on, let's get some sleep," she said quietly into Tilly's ear.

Bidding Hugh and Paul goodnight the girls left them alone to feed Wesley.

The news the next morning surprisingly wasn't all about the story, 'Car Stolen with Baby in Back.' Paul managed to go out for some supplies, clothes, diapers and jars of baby food – Wesley was too old to survive off of milk alone – but Paul was so nervous that he would be discovered he decided it was a safer bet to buy the damn stuff. Which was stupid, why were things for something so small so expensive? Paul had always been pretty good with numbers in his head but to him it just didn't add up. When he returned Hugh had managed to keep him quiet enough not to wake the girls.

By the afternoon the story still hadn't broken. Hugh and Paul were getting nervous, had they accidentally stolen a baby that had meant to be abandoned? "What's wrong?" Tilly asked, coming out of her and Michael's room in search of coffee.

"The story isn't on the news yet."

"What story?"

"Um, hello, missing baby," Paul said waving his hand towards Wesley who was sitting in his lap, chewing on a rusk.

"Oh, right, that one, could you talk quieter?" She asked wincing.

"Tilly does this not at all concern you?"

"Not really, in fact it makes it easier to just drop him off at a fire station or a hospital, surely?"

"You'd think so," Hugh said, "but look," rolling up Wesley's sleeve he revealed a hand print shaped bruise. "His torso is covered, I think his family were hurting him. And the way he didn't wake up when we were driving, I'm worried he'd been drugged to sleep while that woman went drinking."

"So?"

"So, if we are caught on camera dropping him off at a hospital or fire station, we could be accused of putting them there. We have to at least wait until he heals up a bit, that way it can't be pinned on us."

"So you're gonna send him back?" Tilly asked horrified, over the years she had felt the sting of an adult's hand, she couldn't imagine who could have done that to someone as small and sweet as Wesley.

"Tilly what choice do we have? We can't look after a baby, what about when he gets bigger? Also do you know how much baby things are?" In Paul's lap, Wesley could sense the unrest between them and let out a whimper. He reached over to Hugh who hadn't raised his voice yet. Hugh took him from Paul and through to the couch, away from the arguing. Michael was watching the TV, nothing interesting, just daytime filler, she looked too hungover to care.

"Mind if I find him something to watch?"

She held the remote up to him, "can't be worse than this shit- sorry, junk. What're they fighting about?"

"Tilly doesn't think we should take him back because he has bruises that certainly didn't come from us. I mean, I can see where she's coming from but if we keep him then we're really kidnappers, not car thieves who made a mistake."

"Well you know what she went through, can you blame her?"

"No. I can't. But Paul's right too, we can't keep him."

The door to the apartment flew open, startling Wesley into crying again as the man Hugh had dreaded finding out entered. Gabriel Lorca ran many businesses, not all were legitimate, and he targeted teens to bring into his less than legal ventures. That was how they were all here, he'd offered them something better than what they had. He laid his eyes on the screaming baby, "what, in God's name, is that?"

"A- A baby?"

"Oh, a baby? I can see it's a damn baby, what the hell are you doing with a baby, where's the other idiot. Stamets, get the fuck in here!" Paul strolled around the corner from the kitchen, he was defiant, always had been when it came to Lorca, but he got results. This time however, he had royally fucked up. No sooner had he entered the room Lorca grabbed him by the shirt and pushed him against the wall with considerable force. Tilly who had just walked in behind him let out a squeal of shock before hurrying over to where Michael and Hugh were. "What the fuck were you thinking!?" Michael took Wesley from Hugh's arms and he stood to approach Lorca.

"It was an accident," Hugh tried.

"Stay out of this college boy," Lorca warned, "I wanna hear his excuse."

"He was in the fucking trunk; the woman went into a bar and had been gone for nearly two hours when we jacked it. He didn't even cry."

"Hey, get off him," a voice from the door shouted, Jett had been coming to check on them.

"Or what? Will you shut that thing up!" He yelled over his shoulder at the girls. Tilly took him and he settled quickly.

"You know what, I walk and so do they," Jett threatened. It was a legitimate threat, Jett had the crew's loyalty over Lorca, because she took the time to get to know them and teach them stuff, Lorca just lined their pockets with cash. Lorca considered briefly before letting Paul go, Paul held his hand up to Hugh not to come closer until Lorca was gone. "Don't forget this is and always was my garage before you invited us to join you. I can take it away easier than it was to get me to join." She warned as he left, shooting her a dirty look.

"Girls, don't forget your assignment tonight and don't fuck it up," he said, eyes darting to the baby and back to each of their faces.

Once he was gone, there was a beat of silence as they listened for his car starting outside before they relaxed. Hugh went over to Paul who accepted a hug from his partner. They explained the situation with Wesley's bruises to Jett who agreed they should maybe wait so they couldn't be pinned on them. "His family must be missing him by now though," Jett lamented.

"I'm not so sure," Paul said, "it's not on the news, I doubt it's even been reported yet."

"Hmm, I'll keep my ear on the news while I do the car you brought me in, you guys figure out a plan, you'll need a route with little to no cameras to a fire station or a hospital to drop him off. Use the hacked computer in the office, it still hasn't been kicked out of the traffic system. Tilly, what time are you guys due out?"

"Four at the airport."

"Alright, you watch Wesley while you get ready, they need to concentrate and he'll cry less with you, so he's less likely to be heard. Everyone understand?" They nodded and went to work, Jett was firm but was always fair, she gave them a place to live, meaning they weren't struggling. Paul used the computer in the office, while Hugh worked the phones, noting appointments on paper so he didn't interrupt Paul. Michael and Tilly put together their ensembles as girls coming back from a weekend abroad. Lorca had a contact at the local airport who sent security pictures of people flying who had left their cars in the long stay parking. Lorca's people would buy outfits and make themselves look similar, picking up the car before it was due, but only when his people were on shift. Today they were after a Bentley Bentayga in a deep green which had been dropped off by a pair of girls going on a hen week abroad. If his contact was correct, they wouldn't even miss their car and would cash in on the insurance without fail.

Tilly and Michael kept Wesley entertained while each other got ready that afternoon. Jett was listening to the news as she made arrangements for the car to be worked on. First, she had her apprentices change and ditch the plates before arranging a paint job and cleaning. She made notes of what needed to be done under the hood to make it work like new before sending it in the back to be worked on.

Tilly brought Wesley to Hugh and Paul in the office when she and Michael were about to be picked up for their heist. Wesley resisted but settled with Paul while Hugh took over the computer and route planning. A little after five Jett came into the office and snatched up the remote from the desk, turning the small tv in the corner onto the news. A young woman who looked closer to Tilly's age and build than the woman who had been driving the car was stood, clutching a photo of Wesley.

She was pleading for the safe return of her baby. Wesley reached towards the tv, "mama," he cried desperately leaning out of Paul's grasp.

"That your mama?" Paul asked, soothing him.

"_Please, please" the woman sobbed, "bring back my Wesley, I miss and love him so very much. Please, I don't care about my mother's car, just please, bring my baby back to me," _she began sobbing uncontrollably and was escorted away from the press.Hugh and Paul shared a look, they felt awful. It was her mother's car, that made sense, but did this girl know how her mother had treated her baby? Or was she also treating him this way? They had no way of knowing, but an uneasy feeling settled in their stomachs as they helped Jett close up shop for the day.

The young woman on the tv looked heartbroken that her baby was missing. A following news story said the girl's mother was being investigated for neglect, as there was CCTV of her shutting the baby in the trunk of her car and driving off, also meaning if they backdated Wesley's bruising, it wouldn't come back to them. The issue lay with getting Wesley home. If they took him, they would be arrested for stealing the car and if the police felt like it, kidnapping.

Michael and Tilly returned from another assignment Lorca had sent them on a few evenings later, Paul was laid on their couch with Wesley on his chest, both of them fast asleep. There were some of Wesley's toys strewn about the room and a note from Hugh told them he had gone out for another pack of diapers. "Shh, look," Michael pointed them out to Tilly.

"Aww, we should put him on his mat, in case Paul turns," Tilly said softly. Michael got the mat out of Wesley's bag and laid it on the floor with a blanket also from the bag. When she went to lift Wesley from Paul however, the blonde's arms tensed around the infant. "Hey, it's just me," she whispered, continuing to lift the sleeping baby out of his grasp. Paul let him go and Michael covered him with the throw from the back of the couch they used for movie nights. Wesley woke, but realising who was holding him did not cry, just settled back down to sleep against Tilly's shoulder. They left him a note and took Wesley down to the garage office where Jett was working, as he seemed more awake and unlikely to go back to sleep.

"Any news on how to return him?" Tilly asked as Jett took the child from her. Despite being there a short time, Wesley had made quite the impression on everybody who frequented Jett's sector of Lorca's business. Jett bounced him on her knee while she spoke to the girls.

"I got a buddy in the Fire Department. I trust him, he got his start in this garage, he said he could help us out, but the timing would need to be pretty tight." She told Tilly and Michael. "He said he could turn off CCTV around the station long enough for a drop and run. Provided there's no call-outs. I'm gonna tell them over take out, when little man here is in bed." The girls agreed, despite how much they were enjoying having Wesley around the last few days, it would be nice to have freedom and a bit of quiet in the flat again.

Hugh and Paul agreed to Jett's plan, happy for Wesley to be going home to his mom. They cleaned down his car seat, eliminating any possible traces of their finger prints or anything that could be traced back to them.

On the night, they didn't strap him fully into the car. Hugh who was wearing thick gloves, held his seat in place discretely, while Paul as the more experienced driver drove. They drove around, waiting for the signal from Jett, that her guy had turned off the CCTV, so they could do the drop. It was late, late enough that the smooth motion of the car had put Wesley to sleep. They had said their goodbyes earlier that evening when they began with what had become his bedtime routine. They gave him a bath and read him a story before settling him in his seat with it reclined as much as they could. They dressed him in his coat and covered him with a blanket they found in his bag.

Paul got the text via the hands-free and changed his route towards the station. As he drove by, Paul slowed the car and Hugh opened the door, hurrying to the back entrance, ringing the bell and leaping back into the car for Paul to drive away undetected.

It was the next morning, Paul and Hugh hadn't slept well, and it showed as they joined the girls for a breakfast of leftover pizza on the couch. They perked up as the news began.

"_Our top story this morning_," the anchor read, "_the missing baby has been reunited with his mother early this morning. Baby Wesley was dropped off at a Fire Station anonymously, late last night, with zero harm having come to the child," _as the voice spoke a clip played of Wesley's mother getting him back, holding him to her chest as she sobbed, relieved her baby was safe. "_Police say 'we may never know the full events that lead to his kidnapping, but what matters is he is back with his mother and safe from harms way…'"_

The 'work' phone directly linked to Lorca and no one else buzzed on the coffee table and all four of them groaned. Tilly, being closest, picked it up and read the text, handing it to Paul and Hugh. "It's for you."

Hugh leaned over to Paul, reading the text over his shoulder. It was a picture of a car and an address with the message '_and don't fuck up this time'_ written after it.

"We're never going to hear the end of this are we?" Paul groaned, handing it to Hugh so he could put the postcode provided into a computer to check out where they were dealing with.

"I'd doubt it," Michael told him, taking the phone to admire the car they were being sent for. "Sweet ride."

Tilly took the phone from her, letting out an appreciative whistle, "mm, nice car, be sure to check for stowaways in the trunk," she teased, while Paul grumbled how it was too early for this 'shit.'

On the floor, by his boyfriends' feet Hugh smiled, it felt like everything was returning to normal already.


End file.
